BANGKOK, March 15 (Reuters) - Most Southeast Asian stock
markets fell on Tuesday, in line with Asia, taking a breather
after recent rallies, as the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy
steady as expected.
Investors also awaited U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for
clues on interest rate directions.
Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 0.22 percent,
with energy-related stocks among losers as oil prices declined
on oversupply concerns. Shares of Sembcorp Industries Ltd
dropped 1.6 percent, among top percentage decliners.
Indonesia's Jakarta composite index slipped 0.6
percent, after closing at its highest level in near eight months
in the previous session ahead of the central bank meeting on
Thursday.
The Thai key SET index ended a two-day winning
streak, while stocks in Malaysia and Vietnam
drifted lower after three successive days of gains.
"Even though the Federal Reserve appears to be in no hurry
to pull the trigger on its next rate hike at this meeting, its
clues on future rate hikes throughout the year however seem to
be in the focus of the market," said Bangkok-based broker
Phillip Securities in a report.
Energy shares underperformed on MSCI's index of Southeast
Asia, led by Thailand's PTT Global Chemical
and Indonesia's Adaro Energy both down
about 3 percent.
Bucking the trend, the Philippines' index climbed 1.2
percent, boosted by a rally in shares of Philippine Long
Distance Telephone Co (PLDT) and Globe Telecom Inc
after San Miguel Corp and Telstra Corp
ended joint venture negotiations.
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SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS
Change at 0525 GMT
Market Current Previous close Pct Move
Singapore 2840.9 2847.06 -0.22
Bangkok 1388.66 1394.27 -0.40
Manila 7195 7112.89 1.15
Jakarta 4849.224 4877.531 -0.58
Kuala Lumpur 1694.16 1700.31 -0.36
Ho Chi Minh 575.82 577.98 -0.37
(Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Editing by Anand Basu)